An April Fool's joke on my garden...
Hee hee. I thought I could do an April Fool's joke on my garden, but I only have until lunchtime. Several thoughts occur - firstly, I could approach my giant Gunnera plants in the water race wearing a chemical decontamination suit, thick rubber gloves, and a back-pack of milky slurping liquid...
Dahlia Petals
Sunday 1st April
Stop! The very fact that I am thinking of silly things to do means only one thing - it's called procrastination! Get out there, Moosey - it's a brand new month, you probably have a new set of ridiculous plans which may or may not go anywhere, a new set of resolutions which may or may not be broken...
The Water Race
Weed That Water Race!
Think of the big Easter sale coming up later this week - the one with the best, biggest bargain bin in the whole gardening world - and make sure you deserve to visit! Your water race needs you (weeds, weeds, weeds). As do your paths (rake, rake, rake). And there's always the Hump which you haven't peeped into for weeks.
Right. The sun is shining, no wind or rain or drizzle or mizzle or fog - nothing to spoil the first day of April for me in my garden.
Much Later...
I enlarged the Birthday Rose Garden, and redug the edge of the wee Dog Kennel Garden behind the garage. Guess what? There was suddenly much more room for new plants. Since I had worked so hard, I was allowed a reward. So I went to the rhododendron nursery sale and came home with the following non-rhododendron bargains.
My New April Plants
- Pittosporums
- Some strong Pittosporums for the Welcome Garden - they are my best survivors of low light, pine tree neighbours, and little watering.
- Shrubs
- Two pretty pink Hebes for the water's edge beginning of that Birthday Rose Garden - they have the name Oratia Mist, I think. And a cute little Cistus which grows like a little crinkly green mound.
- Camellias
- There were two in the bargain bin, both called Honey Something (oops - must check). Lovely plants, lots of buds, that old-fashioned fat Japonica shape - well, I couldn't leave them! Some April Fool gardener might have pounced and stuck them in with her cactuses.
Now half the newcomers are planted, and I've further cleaned up the water race edge, laying weed-mat and stones. Places where Gunnera seedlings are allowed are now absolutely controlled.
Hydrangeas
I've also mulched a wheelbarrow of pruned branches in the new shredder. This is exactly how I planned to use it - doing a little, often. Absolutely no flax or cordyline leaves are allowed. So far I've put branches from Pittosporums, Buddleias, and Escallonias through.
Cat Courier
Tomorrow I am a cat-courier for my friend Judith. She trapped a medium sized kitten - a catlet - mid-week. He's grey and fluffy and half-friendly - doesn't really like being picked up, doing a floppy freeze like my B-Puss does. So this lucky catlet goes to the vet and then will be further socialised, before going to a good home. I wonder - is six cats too many? After all, the garden is large and the Moosey house is spacious... Oops!
Tuesday 3rd April
My vet has already found the fluffy grey kitten a home. This is great news for such a lovely little bloke and such a better life for him. Now, away from the animal business and back to the garden. I have already completed one huge session, weeding and enlarging the back fence garden. This is Mermaid rose territory - ouch! Possibly there is room for another rose, but it would have to be suitable for a fence.
My Spring Bulbs Have Arrived
I'm just having an early lunch, and then I'm off to open my mail order spring bulbs. Yes - assorted noises of delight! What did I order? I can't remember - terribly exciting! And what will my 'free gift' for ordering so many actually be? Hopefully some tulips. I also have more newspaper, and so my weekend Pittosporums can be lovingly planted in the Welcome Garden and mulched. So many more things to do - and I haven't started on my Albeniz piano practice for April yet.
Berberis and Euphorbia
Welcome to Autumn
I'd also like to officially welcome the beginning of autumn. How is it that this particular day has been chosen? This morning, for the first time all year, my early morning feet were cold and needed socks. Ha!
Easleas Golden Rambler
Are They Flowering?
Now it's a matter of seeing if the speckled Toad lilies are flowering - and it's almost time to go on autumn leaf-watch. Back much, much later, with loads of garden accomplishments which I can list in the greatest detail...
Well, it's late afternoon, and it took much longer to dig holes, drag buckets of water and plant the Pittosporums than I thought. But I also shifted some hebes. Then I decided to read my list of purchased bulbs and to plan their locations properly, rather than lurch around thoughtlessly with my hand digger twitching.
And here's a thought - I bought a Zephirine Drouhin climber in the rose sale last week. Trying to be wise, thinking of my Easleas Golden Rambler mistake, I've just googled to see what sort of support this thornless climber would like. With apologies to writers of rosy nursery web-sites I have copied the following comments:
On The Climbing Needs of Zephirine Drouhin
- Perfect to train over a trellis or porch.
- Good for trimming into a formal hedge.
- Ideal planted along walkways and to frame entrances.
- Perfect for covering a wall or climbing over an arch.
- Ideal as a pillar rose.
- Good for growing over an arbour.
- Great pruned as a six foot tall shrub.
- Perfect for covering walls and fences.
Right. Seems that this rose can go anywhere! So she'll be planted along the back fence, between two rather sober Mermaids (they were severely pruned back last year with my bow-saw). Then I might plant some of the new bulbs underneath her. But all of this can happen tomorrow. Whence this gardener's petty pace can creep...